10 most memorable moments from the 2012 WSOP Part 1
The 2012 World Series of Poker is now officially in the books, ending with the thrilling final table performance that saw Greg Merson crowned as the 2012 WSOP Champion. In this 2-part series I’ll take a look back at the complete 2012 WSOP (from Las Vegas to Cannes) and list the 10 most memorable moments form the tournament series.
Some of the moments I have chosen are singular events, while others are more about the totality of the WSOP tournament series, but for me these are the 10 most memorable moments of the WSOP. Here is a look at the first 5 memorable moments:
#10 — Phil Ivey’s 12-day run
In the span of 12 days Phil Ivey showed why he is the most feared poker player in the game, making five final tables in less than two weeks! Ivey’s run could have been legendary had he won a couple of those tournaments, but even without a single win it’s still pretty memorable.
#9 — Folded Quads in the Big One for One Drop
During the early stages of the Big One for One Drop tournament we saw the tightest laydown of all-time as Smirnov folded Quad 8’s Face-Up to John Morgan’s river all-in on a board of Js-8c-7s-8s-Ks. The only hand that could beat Smirnov was specifically the 9/T of spades, and it’s still unknown if Morgan held this hand.
#8 — Twitter Wars
This wasn’t the first year that Twitter was available during the WSOP, but in 2012 the amount of news and rumors circulating around the Twitterverse was unprecedented. The social media outlet proved to be the real-time reporting of the future for poker and gave us a look at virtually every aspect of the WSOP, from hand histories and chip-counts, to Twitter-Wars between players and even some involving WSOP employees.
#7 — Antonio wins the Big One for One Drop
Antonio Esfandiari went from a well-known poker player to one of the most recognizable and marketable in the game with his $18 million Big One for One Drop victory. Antonio then went over to the WSOP Europe and picked-up his third career bracelet and second of 2012.
#6 — Hille and Baumann run at history
As the WSOP Main Event was winding down to the final table the biggest news was the potential history-making runs of two women in the field, Gaelle Baumann and Elisabeth Hille. The two women just missed the final table finishing 10th and 11th respectively, dashing the hopes for potentially the biggest WSOP Main Event story since Chris Moneymaker won the event in 2003.
Read Part 2 HERE: /blog/10-most-memorable-moments-from-the-2012-wsop-part-2/
